


Tinseltown Memories

by debwalsh



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Marvel Trumps Hate 2019, Mutual Pining, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Slow Burn, Steve Rogers Movie Star, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, recovering Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:02:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21553534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/debwalsh/pseuds/debwalsh
Summary: When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decides to give Steve Rogers a lifetime achievement award for his wartime films and his contributions to humanity, they send out a team to do a documentary on the super soldier out of time.Turns out, Bucky has never seen those 1940s films starring Captain America, and no one has seen the lost film debut of Steve Rogers without the shield.  When they finally do, Steve and Bucky discover something about themselves - and each other - that neither had suspected.This is the first of the two Marvel Trumps Hate 2019 stories I’m writing - please bookmark to keep up with the adventures of these boys!
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson
Comments: 48
Kudos: 157
Collections: Marvel Trumps Hate 2019





	1. On Behalf of the Academy ...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rabidsamfan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabidsamfan/gifts).



> I have to thank rabidsamfan for their amazing pledge for Marvel Trumps Hate 2019! Together, we are doing great things for social justice.
> 
> So the prompt for this story was: I'm always up for fixit fic, slice of life, and fluff. I also like outside observer stories with someone describing the people we see.
> 
> For Steve and Bucky I would get a kick out of stories about their life in Brooklyn as kids/young adults/best friends, or their time with the Howling Commandos. If you want to write something in the modern era, feel free to handwave the "rescuing Bucky from Hydra" bit and go for something where the two of them are exploring the 21st century and comparing it to the past, either favorably or unfavorably. Or maybe Bucky and Steve finally getting a chance to watch the movies Steve made?
> 
> I like the other characters in the MCU, so they're welcome to be around too.
> 
> So ... let’s see how I do!

Steve was used to being called to the PR office of Stark Industries.It happened on the regular, usually because he’d made a comment that some right wing nut job didn’t think was “worthy” of the “symbol” that was Captain America.Geeze, he’d done this so often, he even thought in air quotes ...

He couldn’t remember exactly what he’d said to whom about what and when that triggered his latest walk of shame, but he knew sure as shootin’, he wasn’t about to recant.He never did, and he never would.Usually his penance was some kind of community service, like that was any kind of punishment.He was always happy to give back, and he usually met the best kind of people on those assignments.And then he usually followed it up with some kind of gift for the PR department, usually alcohol and some kind of baked goods from a neighborhood bakery.He wondered just how far he was going to have to up his ante this time. He might have to try that Russian place Nat went all gooey over.

When he knocked on Amber Pendegrast’s door and saw Pepper Potts sitting in the big comfy chair facing Amber’s desk, smiling like she’d just had the best present dropped in her lap, he was pretty sure he couldn’t afford it.

&&&

“Wait, lemme get this straight - you were a leading man back during the war?”

“C’mon, Buck, y‘must’ve known that was me -“

“Steve, we hated Captain America.The Red Cross packages were full of your damned comic books, and they were useless for barter - couldn’t get a single cig in exchange for a whole stack of the damned things.We had some R&R? Trust me, no one in my unit was lining up to see movies that didn’t feature girls with gams.Many, many girls with gams. So, no, when the brass brought in the Captain America flicks, we all found something better to do, mostly involving whatever alcohol we’d managed to squirrel away or the hooch some enterprising fella had brewing.Wait a minute - did you wear the outfit?”

“Har-har, funny man.Yes, I wore the outfit.I was required to wear the outfit.”

“And the helmet, don’t forget the original helmet,” Sam interjected.“Made you look like a bullet-head, man.”

Bucky sniggered.“Oh, fuck, I remember those pictures.You looked like a Merry Widow.No, what’d the Army call ‘em? A Pro!”

Steve grimaced at Bucky, and tossed a pillow at his head. Bucky’s prosthetic arm shot up and intercepted the pillow, deftly tapping it back so it hit Steve square in the face.Bucky just giggled while Sam glanced back and forth between the two supersoldiers.

“Did you just just call Cap a, a condom-head?” Sam spluttered.

“Think about it, Wilson!That old outfit, that stupid cowl thing made him look like little Stevie wearin’ a raincoat.Then again look south and you could tell little Stevie wasn’t so little,” Bucky smirked with an arched eyebrow and a deliberate glance toward Steve’s lap.

Steve immediately turned twelve shades of purple.

Sam, on the other hand, snorted. “Nice image, Barnes.Last thing I wanna think about is Cap’s dick.Or Cap as a dick.I gotta go bleach my brain now.You better go wash your brain out with soap.”

Steve looked at Sam with a horrified expression, then quickly turned to Bucky to make sure he was all right, but Bucky burst out in a sputtering laugh, and all was right with the world again.Except Bucky said he looked like a dick in a johnny wearing his old outfit. He already knew the damned outfit was too revealing.The damnable cup they gave him pinched in all the wrong places, and half the time he couldn’t wear it no matter how many times the stage manager threatened him.He remembered his struggles to think saintly thoughts whenever he had to wear the original suit in public.Which, between Project Rebirth and the day he went AWOL to find Buck, was pretty much every day, sometimes three times a day.

Damn, he did not miss that shit.

Bucky was still giggling, and Sam was tossing something at his head.Nuts, actually.A couple of them bounced off Buck’s head before he decided to try catching them with his open mouth.

He really was surrounded by toddlers, even if Sam made a show at being the mature one in their odd little trio.

Sam finally got bored and just handed Bucky the bowl of nuts, then settled back in his chair to consider Steve as Bucky started cracking walnuts between his thumb and forefinger.Show off. 

“But seriously, when my local channel ran ‘em on Fourth of July every year, I was excited to see an Army unit that had somebody who looked like me in it.How’d you pull that off, old man?The 1940s weren’t especially known for their respect for the black man.”

Now that was something Steve was really proud of.The Howling Commandos were famous for being an integrated unit.He loved his team fiercely, but the fact was he’d chosen the best men he knew, and hadn’t made any conscious choices about racial representation. 

But the team he had on screen had been a stumbling step forward, and a deliberate one. In an era when black characters were mostly relegated to Stepin Fetchit and Mammy characters, having a black character who was competent, responsible, and equal to the white characters around him had been anything but accidental. 

He’d fought to have his team represent the people of the US - black, brown, yellow, red, white.He couldn’t overcome the racial bias against Asians thanks to the Roosevelt administration’s propaganda campaign painting them as evil villains so white people wouldn’t question or argue against internment.And he’d been laughed out of the office when he’d suggested casting a Native American as a member of his film unit.The average American knew nothing about the code talkers programs until years later, but still, what he knew at the time as “Indians” were also “Americans.” The idea of an Hispanic in his squad hadn’t fared much better.

But he’d at least won the battle to include Eugene Chambers as part of his team.He remembered him as a scholarly, good-natured fella with great patience and a ready smile - not unlike Gabe had been, really.He’d been lucky with both his teams, cinematic and military.

Steve blinked and realized he’d been musing out loud, and both Sam and Bucky were looking at him, with their respective jaws hanging open.

“Geeze, Steve.Add a queer and a dame, and you’d’a had a royal flush,” Bucky said, and Steve frowned for a brief second - what would Buck think if Steve admitted the films had a queer as their star? His thought was interrupted by Sam’s response.

“Barnes, watch your mouth. Remember - we don’t use those words anymore.But seriously, Steve.That’s a story that should be told, man.It sure as shit would shut down that Fox News crap they peddle about you being the hero of white Protestant Conservative America.”

“I was raised Catholic, and I was - am - a social Democrat.Kinda lucky I wasn’t around in the ‘50s - I’d’a probably been given up to McCarthy as a Communist.Can’t help this,” he added, waggling his hands to indicate the pallor of his skin.

“Your Ma would’a been proud, Steve,” Bucky said quietly.

“Thanks, Buck.” At Sam’s upraised eyebrow, he added, “Ma was an Irish Catholic immigrant.Came over when you could still find ‘no Irish need apply’ attitudes in New York.She held no truck with anyone being held down, no matter where they came from, no matter what they looked like.”

“And this mook took that to heart, and would happily try to beat up anybody who thought different.Try being the operative word.”

“Well, you always had my back, Buck.”

“Would’n’a made it past second grade otherwise.”

“When you’re right, you’re right,” Steve replied with a fond smile, which broadened at the wide-eyed response he got from Bucky from easily agreeing.

“Who are you and what’ve you done with my best friend, huh?No way you’re Steve Rogers if you’re agreeing so easy.”

“Nah.Just facing facts.I would’n’a made it past first grade without your help.” Again, Sam’s eyebrow was climbing toward his hairline.“We first met when Buck helped me up after Frankie Abernathy clocked me good in the schoolyard. I was in first grade, he was in second.He had my back in every other fight after that.I ain’t exaggerating when I say he saved my life more than once.”

“He broke easy, but he always got up again, goddamn him,” Bucky muttered, but the pleased smile on his face told Steve the recognition felt good.

“Yeah, well.So, yeah.I won a battle with the studio to get someone not white in my squad.Would’a liked to have had more.”

“What’d it cost you?”

Steve grimaced at the memory, scrubbing his face with his hand.“Squiring the vainest, most boring, most talentless girlfriend around Hollywood for a month.She was the girlfriend du jour of one of the studio heads, and he didn’t want his wife to know about her. So I got stuck with her until he got tired of her.Then I would meet her for coffee to rub her back and let her cry it out.That’s when I got to know the real her - she was quite a gal when she wasn’t trying to act like a bombshell, y’know?”

Sam grinned that gap-toothed grin that spoke of real delight, and Steve smiled back in turn.“Damn, son - you should write a book.”

“Hmmph.Maybe I will.”

He glanced over to Bucky and warmed at the sight of Bucky’s grin.Would he still be grinning if he ever learned the truth about Steve?

&&&

Interview Subject: Amber Pendergast, Stark Industries PR Department

Interviewer: Thanks, Ms. Pendergast, for taking the time to chat with us.

Pendergast: Well, it’s a form of vetting, you know.You realize I’m not letting you near Captain Rogers until I’m satisfied you’re not going to invade his privacy or otherwise abuse our trust in you.

Interviewer:Noted.First, I wanted to walk through the chain of custody of Captain Rogers’s films.They were originally shot by Paragon Pictures over the course of 1943 and released at irregular intervals, even after Captain Rogers deployed to Europe.All except one, the final film in the Rogers catalogue. 

In 1947, Howard Stark acquired the entire back catalogue of Paragon Pictures, including Captain Rogers’s Captain America films.He didn’t buy the studio outright, instead opening his own Stark Pictures, which had access to the innovative film technologies developed by Stark himself.After about a year or so, Stark left the business, and allowed the studio to be run by a group of innovative filmmakers hand-picked by Stark.

By 1957, the theatrical releases were reformatted for television prime time, and later became available for syndication and then home video.None of them have been released on DVD or Blu-ray, including the lost Steve Rogers film.Can you say why that is?

Pendergast:Well, I think because the film elements need to be remastered.And Mr. Stark - Anthony Stark, you know - has some ideas on how he’d like to enhance the transfers.Plus, at this point, I think we’d all expect that Captain Rogers himself might have a say in whether or how the films are released.

Interviewer:And the lost film?

Pendergast:I’m not aware of any lost film.

Interviewer:There are six Captain America films, each shot under a backbreaking schedule of a ninety minute film shot in a single week.Their premieres were always linked to war bond sales, which naturally spiked alongside the new film premieres. 

The Paragon Pictures records show that Captain Rogers was flown to Los Angeles from USO tour stops all over the country in order to shoot the films.A seventh film was shot over the course of a two week period shortly before Captain Rogers and his USO show shipped out for Europe.But there’s no record of what the film was, or why it wasn’t released.Considering the earning power of Captain America for the war bond effort, it seems strange that the film wasn’t shown to encourage bond purchases, like the earlier films were.

Pendergast:I’m sorry, but I’m not aware of any lost Captain America film.

Interviewer:It may not be a Captain America film.All we know is that Steve Rogers was flown to Hollywood to film a seventh picture, and for some reason that picture was never given a theatrical release.Surely it’s in the Stark vault.

Pendergast:Again, I’m not aware of it.Howard Stark possessed a great many collections, including arguably the largest Captain America collection in history.If the film exists, it could be in his private collection.And that’s what it is - private. 

Interviewer: Well, obviously I’d like to ask Captain Rogers about it.

Pendergast: I’ll have to get back to you on that.After I discuss with Captain Rogers.If he’s not willing, that will be a no go.Now, are there anymore questions about real things?

Interviewer:Yeah, um, okay.Captain Rogers’s Academy membership.I understand it was originally granted to him in an extraordinary session of the Academy - awarded outside of their normal cycle, and based on really no film experience at all.

Pendergast:I imagine it was a nod toward the war effort.After all, Captain Rogers was raising a great deal of money for war bonds at the time.

Interviewer: Rumor has it that his government sponsor, Senator Brandt, might have bribed key members of the Academy.

Pendergast:Look, if you’re trying to imply that Captain Rogers did anything untoward -

Interviewer:No, no, not at all.From our research, it looks like Senator Brandt really capitalized on Captain Rogers’s popularity.He may have been looking to cement Captain Rogers’s reputation in Hollywood in order to ensure longevity.In the industry.In getting more of the Captain America propaganda films made.

Pendergast:Seems silly.From all accounts, they were hugely popular.No need to grease the wheels or whatever.The studio had to be making money off the films - it was in their best interest to continue making them.

Interviewer:Well, that’s the thing.According to the Paragon Pictures records we were able to locate, it looks like about fifty percent of the profits were funneled to the war bond program.So while the films did well at the box office, the back end profits weren’t as high as they appeared.

Pendergast:Is there a point to this?

Interviewer:I guess just that Captain Rogers’s film career was pretty much manufactured, and yet it’s had a lasting impact.They’re not great films, but they have heart, and they broke the color barrier well ahead of the Civil Rights Movement.The reappearance of Captain Rogers in recent years has renewed interest.A look back, if you will.And the Academy wants to recognize that.With a lifetime achievement award.Which is why we’re doing this documentary.Which would make a great opportunity to release that seventh film.It would be a great ending for our film.

Pendergast: You’re not going to let that go, are you. 

Interviewer:I want to ask Captain Rogers about it.

Pendergast:We’ll see.I’ll ask.He says no, that’s it.No further discussion.Now ... we done?

Interviewer:For the moment.Thanks, Ms. Pendergast.Appreciate your time.And I’m looking forward to working with Captain Rogers.

Pendergast:Well, I’ll let you know about that.It’s not just my decision.I’ll be in touch.

&&&


	2. Captain America and the Jaws of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the gang watches Steve first film as Captain America, Stark gets broken, Bucky has some good memories, and Steve is happy to share them.
> 
> Also, Pepper Potts is goddess in all my fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’ve mapped out all the film titles, and each chapter will be named for them. Plus an epilogue.

Pepper strode into the common area, looking every inch the CEO of Stark Industries, and cleared her throat to get the attention of the several Avengers lounging around the room. “Okay, so Amber’s vetted the documentary team, and she thinks they’re okay. A little geeky, but who isn’t?”

“I’m not,” Natasha said mildly, not lifting her eyes up from the pint of Dulce le Leche she was methodically destroying.Beside her, Clint rolled his eyes, and she flicked her hand at his exposed bicep, again without looking, earning her a sharp, “Ow!” from the archer.

Pepper shook her head fondly at the pair, earning her a sly smile from Nat and a shrug from Clint.“Well, okay.I don’t think there’s any shame in being a geek, myself.Anyway, they’re very interested in discussing your films with you, Steve,” she smiled as Steve groaned into his hand while Bucky grinned maniacally beside him. 

“Steve’s not so great talking about himself, you know.Never was.”

Steve looked up and beamed at Bucky, as he usually did when Bucky connected with a memory from before the war.“You remember that?”

“I remember you were shit about speaking up for yourself.Tongue-tied and spluttering, red as a beet and practically fainting from lack of air.Imagine this mook a five foot nothing fish outta water flappin’ around for no good reason.Somebody else got a raw deal, you were like Clarence Darrow.Betting you’re still like that.”

Still smiling, Steve shrugged.“I was five foot one, asshole.And I got better on the tour.Brandt brought in elocution teachers, a whole gaggle of specialists to help me look less like an ass.Couldn’t have the prime dancing monkey look like a dud.I had a job to do, y’know - selling bonds.By the time I hit Hollywood, I was doing okay.But acting in front of a camera - that was something else.”

“This is the sort of thing they’re going to want to see in their interviews.Reminiscences, insight into the process, memories.”

“Oh, I got those.I can’t forget anything, worse luck,” Steve observed.At Pepper’s upraised eyebrow, he added, “Eidetic memory.I had a good memory before the serum,” he said as Bucky snorted, and Steve gave him a dirty look, “but after, it’s like everything gets recorded in exacting detail.It was helpful,” he added, glaring at Bucky before breaking into a grin.

“Yeah, show this idiot something for 10 seconds, and it’s seared in his brain,” Bucky explained with a chuckle.“Me’n the Howlies useta try’n come up with the stupidest shit to show him real quick, and then quiz him for days.Easy entertainment.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.It was useful when I saw enemy maps and plans, but I regretted the ability when Dugan came up with those godawful limericks he liked to scribble down.And then Gabe translated them into French for Dernier - they were even worse!”

“Yeah, they were fun times,” Bucky agreed with a sigh.“Hey, maybe I should share some ideas with Stark - he could like -“ Bucky was cut off by Steve’s hand clamping down over his mouth. 

“Tony doesn’t need anymore ... ideas,” he said between gritted teeth, Pepper nodded fiercely.

“Steve’s right - Tony doesn’t need anymore ideas.Moderation is not his middle name.So anyway, I wanted to discuss the films with you before the Academy team gets here.Stark Industries owns the rights to all of Steve’s films, so whenever you’re ready, JARVIS can queue them up for you.”

“You mean I get to watch Steve’s star turn with the man himself?” Bucky practically giggled.

“And you thought you were going to do this without moi?” they heard Tony Stark say then as he swanned into the communal lounge. “Say it isn’t so, Cap - tell me you were waiting for me to join you all to enjoy the show.After all, I do own the rights to the Rogers Canon.Like, these actually belong to me thanks to dear old Dad buying the studio that made them,” Tony announced as he dropped onto one of the loveseats, carefully balancing a big bowl of popcorn.“Whaddya say, Ms. Potts?Care to share a bucket with me and pretend we’re on a date at the drive-in?”

“Well, considering this is the closest we’ve gotten to a date in a month, why not, Mr. Stark?”

“Hey, you gonna share that corn?” Clint demanded.

“There’s an actual movie theater corn popping machine in the kitchen.Go make your own.”

Bucky stood and extended his hand to Steve.“Hey, Steve, wanna share a bucket of corn?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll help you make it.Anybody else?” Steve asked, and was greeted with a chorus of “Me!” from everyone but Tony, Pepper, and Bucky. 

“You take care of the butter, I’ll pop the corn,” Bucky said, and they went off to marshall snacks.

“You’re gonna share, right?” came Clint’s plaintive call.

“Yeah, yeah.Just don't start without us!” Bucky replied.

&&&

“Wow.Wow, Cap.That was ... that was ...”

“Omigod, Steve, you broke Stark,” Nat giggled.

“It was -“ Tony just wheezed, unable to complete the thought.Pepper patted him on the back, murmuring, “Be nice,” to him in a low voice.

“Monumentally bad,” Clint announced then.“The duckface on that sergeant of yours!”

“It spiked bond sales across the country.We had an 8% increase in every city that picture played,” Steve protested.

“Well, yeah,” Sam said, his expression serious as he watched the end credits fade out.He turned in his seat to face Steve.“That was the purpose, right?To sell bonds?”

Steve nodded.“Yeah.Senator Brandt vetted the scripts and approved the final product, and his office planned the marketing to go along with local pushes in each city.We always had a bump in bond sales when I did the show in a given city, but I couldn’t be everywhere.”

“Were you as scared as you look?” Sam asked gently.

“Worse.When I did this one, I was still learning how to perform on stage.It was all still unfamiliar and awkward.”

“What did you do to resolve that?” Pepper asked, leaning forward with her hands clasped between her knees.Her expression was open and curious, like she really wanted to know.

“Repetition, I guess.That and the kids.The kids got so caught up in Captain America.You guys don’t know what it was like then - TV wasn’t something most people even knew about, and movies cost money.So most kids got their entertainment on the radio.So to see a story played out right in front of them was exciting and new.And the show got tweaked so there were chances for the kids to take part.It started to be fun then - they’d get so excited, I couldn’t help but join in.”

“Is it true you knocked Hitler out 200 times?” Tony asked, swallowing a giggle.

“217 to be exact.Never got my chance once I got to Europe. Woulda liked that with the real deal, actually.”

Bucky snorted.“Yeah, you didn’t your shot but not for lack a’ tryin’.Still surprised you didn’t just hop on your bike and ride right into the heart of the Reich and give old Adolf a pop in the schnozz.”

“That’s ‘cos I had somebody who thought he hadda put the kibosh on my extra-curriculars.Kinda remember the keys goin’ missing on a regular basis.”

“Somebody had to look after your ass.You were piss poor at doing it yourself -“

“I didn’t need a nursemaid -“

“No, you needed a keeper -“

Nat cut through the escalating razzing with a modulated, “Sounds familiar.James, you’ve held the job of Steve-Wrangler longer than anyone. Does it ever get any easier?”

“Fuck no.This idiot just keeps coming up with new ways to get his damned ass in trouble.”

“You talk about his ass a lot.”

“He’s an ass.”

“You’re a pain in it.”

“Much as I agree Cap’s ass is noteworthy, nay, sonnet worthy, I’m curious about the stage show. There’s some newsreel footage, but there’s no record of the whole show. If Barnes here is the superior Cap-Wrangler, however did you survive on the road with only chorines and grips to protect you from yourself?”

“Ha-ha.Senator Brandt had me pretty booked up. I’d do personal appearances outside the show. Photo ops and autographs, personally sell bonds sometimes. Even with the serum, I’d be dead on my feet by the end of the day.”

“Those dames didn’t get your engine going?” Bucky asked with a smirk.

“Matter of fact, no, Buck.Most of ‘em were right outta high school, or wives whose husbands were already at the front. They were all lonely. Actually, all of us were.So they’d go out as a group, the band, the dancers, along with the crew.They tried to go out in every town, y’know?It was good for morale.Sometimes I’d join ‘em, if I could.It was a good bunch.”

“What about the movies?” Sam asked.“Did you have a support network there?”

“I was never in Hollywood very long.A week at a time, tops.Once for two weeks, right before I shipped out.But I worked with the same folks pretty much, and we got chummy.The closest I got to any kinda parties was the opening night for this one.Like I said, with Darlene, we mostly met for coffee when I was in town, and before that, it was when I was in town, and just for the cameras.” 

“Do you have stories like that for all of the films?” Pepper asked then.

Steve shrugged.“I guess.Yeah.I mean, I got stories from the set, some of the premieres.I got to do an honest to God red carpet for the fourth one - the other premieres weren’t quite as glitzy.Mostly I got to see them on the road, though.And I never got to see the last couple at all - the USO shipped us out to Europe before they were out of post.”

“Post?” Bucky asked curiously.

“Post production.All the pieces put together, the music added, the credits, the whole magilla.”

“Listen to you, all Hollywood and shit,” Clint observed with a popcorn-filled grin.

“I hardly think a sum total of two months or so in California makes me all Hollywood. That Magnus opus we just watched?Shot the whole thing, start to finish, in a week.I don’t think they spent much more on the script, if that.”

“It’s not like there were a lot of words, after all,” Bucky teased.“Shit, Steve, you coulda done better on your worst days at O’Callahan’s.”

“O’Callahan’s?” Nat asked.

“One of Buck’s favorite bars.We useta meet up with friends and debate politics and shit.”

“You debated.I fetched drinks and kept an eye out for anybody fixin’ to bop you one for your not so genteel opinions.Which you delivered with your usual eloquence, mind you, but still - not always the most popular guy in the room.”

Steve was grinning broadly, his blue eyes dancing with delight.

“What?” Bucky demanded, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Nothin’.Just glad to relive the memory.With you.”

Bucky tossed his pillow at Steve’s face, grumbling under his breath.But anyone looking at him could see that he was pleased, too.No one commented on that, or the blush that stained his cheeks.Or Steve’s either.

&&&

Interview Subject:Pepper Potts, Stark Industries CEO

Interviewer:Thank you, Ms. Potts, for making the time to sit with me today.

Potts:Of course. We’re really thrilled to see Captain Rogers be recognized for his contribution on film.

Interviewer:Stark Studios, a subsidiary of Stark Industries, acquired the Rogers catalogue from Paragon Pictures.When do you think we might get a special edition Blu-Ray release of the series?

Potts:Well, Stark Studios started out producing films by Howard Stark.But by the mid-‘50s, the studio stopped producing films and focused more on developing technology for the film industry.You might know that they received a special Academy award for their advancements in 3D and motion capture, just two years ago.

Interviewer:They’ve also made some amazing strides in film restoration.It seems a match made in celluloid heaven ...

Potts:I won’t lie and tell you that there’s been no thought given to it.It’s just that there are so many other worthy films in need of much more attention to restore them before the film stocks are completely beyond even our advanced capabilities.So many films were committed to substrates that are highly unstable - even dangerous in concentrations.Those are the films that need immediate attention.Steve’s films are in the queue, but as I said, there are more urgent restorations ahead of them.

Interviewer:Steve’s films.Are you including the missing seventh Steve Rogers film in that queue?

Potts: Seventh film?I’m not familiar with a seventh film.There are six.

Interviewer:There were seven filmed.The seventh film was not released to theatres at the time.

Potts: Oh, in that case, it’s probably because a final cut doesn’t exist.I don’t know how much raw footage Howard kept, to be honest.Although ... there is a warehouse near his Los Angeles estate ... but to my knowledge, it houses old props and set dressing materials.I’m not aware of any film canisters.

Interviewer: Well, I‘m sure I could put together a team to review the materials -

Potts:That’s the purview of Stark Studios.I’m not in the habit of interfering with operating units unless there’s a conflict that needs management resolution.

Interviewer:I’d be happy to put together a team -

Potts: I said no.Thank you.You’ll have to excuse me - I’m running late for a meeting. 

Interviewer: Uh, yeah, sure.Thank you Ms Potts.

&&&

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No hints yet on that last film. Feel free to guess though ... 🤓


	3. Captain America and the Axis of Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the marathon of Steve’s less than stellar Hollywood career continues, much to the glee of his fellow Avengers. Good thing Steve’s got a sense of humor about himself.

“Oh my fucking God!” Tony exclaimed, slapping his hand over his eyes.“Way to sell the spandex, Capsicle!Well, folks must’ve been lining up around the block to pay to get a load of that ass.”

Clint was nonplussed.“Wait, people paid money to see this?”

Nat chuckled and took a sip from her straw.“People paid you to make this?”

“Yeah, how much did you get paid to do this malarkey?” Bucky asked curiously.

“Geeze, I hope you invested well,” Rhodey commented.He’d flown in from DC - commercial - and had arrived just in time to watch the second in the series of Captain America films.He’d been wretching and gagging theatrically through the entire showing.

“Ignore them, Steve,” Pepper said with a sympathetic smile, followed by an “I’ve got my eye on you” glare at Rhodes and Stark.

But Steve didn’t rise to the bait, and instead stared at the screen in silence, leaning forward to rest his chin in the cradle of his interlaced fingers.Finally, he sniffed slightly and settled back in his seat.“That was actually better than I remembered. Which is weird, since I have an eidetic memory.I wonder - maybe they edited after the initial premiere.Because it’s definitely not the film I remember sitting through while Brandt honest to God rubbed his hands in glee.”

Clint stared at him open-mouthed, eyebrows trying to crawl into his scalp.“That was better?I mean ... no offense dude, but I really don’t see how it could’a been worse.”

“Do you trust me?” Nat asked seriously.

Steve was surrounded by solemnly nodding heads.

“It was worse,” she announced and broke into a grin.

“Where’d you see it?” Tony asked matter of factly.

“Small town in Iowa.Mostly farm country.Although, with so many men shipping out, the work of keeping the farms going fell to the women and children.Helluva job they did, too.”

Pepper shook her head.“I’m betting they realized they needed to tighten it up for the urban audience.Maybe bond sales didn’t spike as much as they liked.”

“That would make sense.Yeah, now I think about it, the original version had a stupid subplot about a turkey. Think Brandt had a buddy with a poultry company.”

Bucky mock-gasped, slapping his right hand over his head.“Graft and nepotism, even in the Cap films?Now I’m really disillusioned.”

“Brandt called it ‘product placement’. Even made me do a coupl’a radio ads when the show hit certain cities.”

Sam snorted.“Guy was a real snake oil salesman, huh?”

“At least he believed in the shit he was shoveling,” Steve grinned.

“Language, Cap!” Tony cackled with glee as he shared a high five with Rhodey.

“These yahoos don’t really know you, do they?” Bucky asked, hooking a thumb toward the others in the room.

“Oh? And why is that, pray tell?” Tony asked archly.

“Foulest mouth in St. Theresa’s, three years running,” Bucky answered proudly.Steve smiled so hard his cheeks were shiny.

“Only three years?”

“Fatty McGuire beat me out the year I had last rites four times.”

“Fatty wasn’t the artiste Steve was.But Steve couldn’t very well swear in front of the Monsignor when he was giving him Extreme Unction. Plus, he was unconscious a lot of that time.”

“Fever,” Steve shrugged, still grinning at Bucky recounting his memories.

“Wait, you nearly died four times the same year?” Pepper demanded.

“No.Four times one winter.I was down for the count the next summer - heat and humidity really did a number on the smoke in our neighborhood.Asthma flattened me.Laid me up pretty bad.”

“So the priest did the ritual again?” Nat asked, brows furrowed worriedly.

Both Steve and Bucky shrugged like it was no big deal.For them, it had been part of the reality of growing up with Steve’s extensive list of ailments, combined with Steve’s refusal to let them get in his way - so they often retaliated by nearly killing him every so often.

“And yet ... how on earth did you ever live long enough to meet Dr. Erskine?” Pepper asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Oh, like none of us have ever heard this part of the story,” Tony said, getting up to replenish his drink.

“Oh, you know the story of me trying to enlist and finally meeting Abraham, sure.”

“And everybody knows Steve had a list of shit wrong with him long as both arms put together,” Bucky added with a grin.“What they don’t know is that Steve Rogers ain’t this smooth fella who likes following rules and helping old ladies across the street.”

“I like helping old ladies across the street.Mind you, most of ‘em are younger’n’me.”

“Who’s telling this story, me or you?”

“Thought we were both telling it.”

“Yeah, well, shut up and gimme a chance here, sport.So anyway, what nobody really knows is that Steve Rogers would argue the fuck outta death.And that Irish tongue a’his always won.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.Couldn’t convince the recruiter to slip me a 1A.”

“Thought he was doing your skinny ass a favor, Steve.”

“Yeah, well, figure it wasn’t my time, any of those times with the last rites.But maybe i banked some blessings, y’know?Put me in the right place at the right time to meet Abraham.And again when I found out about the 107th.Didn’t last, though,” he added, his eyes downcast.

Bucky seemed to immediately recognize the change in mood, and reached out with his flesh hand to tip Steve face up with his index finger under his chin. “Hey, none o’that, right.Hey, we got time for another of these gems?”

“The next one runs 87 minutes. Bio-break and new snacks?” Pepper suggested.

“Works for me.I find this American history through film course fascinating.We didn’t have Captain America films in the Red Room.”

“No?”Clint asked from where he surveyed his empty popcorn bowl mournfully.

“No. You may have noticed the scarcity of female role models in these works of propaganda.There would’ve been no lessons for us to learn from these films, other than Americans will pay good money to watch bad movies.”

“Kinda makes you wonder why the Academy wants to give me an award, huh?”

“You think there’s an ulterior motive here?”

‘Let’s just day I doubt they’d bother posthumously, and I’m betting there’s been no interest before the Chitauri.”

“Maybe.It’s still an illuminating look at an historical period,” Pepper said.

“And the racial makeup of your film squad alone makes these movies historically significant,” Sam offered quietly.

“You think?”

“Dude, I already told you.Seeing somebody who looked like me on your team gave me hope. That I could be a hero, too.”

“Sammy, you’ve always been a hero,” Steve protested softly.

“Representation matters. Especially to little kids.Show them they can have dreams, too, and nothing can stand in their way.”

“True that,” Rhodey agreed, reaching across to bump his fist against Sam’s.

“That how you saw things, Cap?” Rhodey asked then.

“I guess ... I guess it never occurred to me that I couldn’t achieve my dreams.I mean, somethings I never expected to happen - looking like this, having girls interested in me, even if it was just for my body, having the experiences I have. But I dreamed of serving, of making a difference. Of laying down my life it it needed to be done.’

“Never occurred to him to back down.”

“You know what Ma said, Buck.Start running and -“

“They’ll never let you stop. I know. Never let it be said we should question the wisdom of Sarah Rogers.”

“Well, I am gonna run to the little spies room.Reconvene here in 20?” Nat suggested as she stood up and stretched.

“Let’s make it 30. I’m thinking Mongolian barbecue. Any takers?”

&&&

Interview Subject:Sam Wilson, Staff Sergeant USAF, Retired, code name Falcon

Interviewer: Thank you Sergeant Wilson for taking the time to sit with me.

Wilson:Name’s Wilson - I’m retired.

Interviewer:From the Air Force, but not from being a hero.

Wilson: I don’t call myself a hero, I just try to do the right thing.

Interviewer:Like Captain America.

Wilson:Like Steve Rogers.Yeah.Don’t need super powers to do what’s right.Just need to have your heart in the right place, y’know?

Interviewer:Yes, sir.Have you seen the Captain America films?

Wilson:Used to watch ‘em as a kid on TV.Local station would do a marathon every Fourth of July.And yeah, the Avengers are watching them together as a team right now.All your fault.

Interviewer: Wow, I’d love to sit in on a session of that.

Wilson: Bet you would.Maybe you should ask Pepper - Ms. Potts.Movie night is kind of a sacred space for the team, though.Everybody leaves their suit at the door and just unwinds, y’know?Not sure how therapeutic that would be with an audience.

Interviewer: Is that what it is? Therapy?

Wilson: To some extent.The team may be gifted, enhanced in some cases.But everyone is still human.Except Thor, but he’s off-world right now. But humans get stressed.Humans in combat get stressed.Team bonding activities that reduce the stress are a good way of coping with that stress.

Interviewer: You were a counselor with the VA, weren’t you?

Wilson: Still am.I just changed my address north.

Interviewer: Well, thank you for your service, sir.

Wilson: (Snorting) Sir’s for the guys like Cap, Colonel Rhodes.Sam’ll do fine, thanks.

Interviewer: Okay, Sam.So you’ve seen the movies.You a fan?

Wilson: Guess you could say.I mean, I never had a Cap action figure, but I did try to make a Hathaway action figure when I was thirteen.

Interviewer:Hathaway being a member of the team in the films.

Wilson: Hathaway being the badass genius munitions expert who just happened to also be a black sergeant from Philadelphia.A hero in his own right.

Interviewer:That must have been inspiring.

Wilson: Yeah, maybe.It was also affirming.Like, someone like me doesn’t have to be stuck in the servant’s quarters or be the comic relief, y’know?Hathaway had skills and he didn’t have to have someone telling him every little thing.He didn’t exist to service the white man’s story.

Interviewer: Well, he was part of the squad.

Wilson: An integral part of the squad.They couldn’t do what they did without Hathaway being the outstanding soldier and genius that he was.

Interviewer: That was unusual in Hollywood at the time.

Wilson: That was unusual in Hollywood when I was a kid.Hell, still is, if I’m being dead honest.

Interviewer:Yes ... Well, anyway, would you say you’re a fan of Captain America?

Wilson: I’d say I’m a fan of Steve Rogers.Captain America’s a marketing ploy.Steve Rogers is the real deal.

Interviewer: How so?

Wilson: How not so?Not just putting his life on the line every day, not just fighting in a war he didn’t have to.And not just getting beefed up by a mad scientist.Guy fights for what he believes in.Could be a pain in the ass when you’re in line at the deli, but nobody gets cheated or treated as other on Steve Rogers’ watch.Like Hathaway - he wouldn’t’ve existed if Steve hadn’t fought for him.

Interviewer: He did?

Wilson: He wanted an integrated squad, just like what he ended up with in the Howling Commandos.He went out on a limb to make it possible for me to have a role model I could be proud of.So yeah.I’m a fan of Steve Rogers.Just don’t tell him that.Don’t want it going to his head.

Interviewer: I ... okay, yeah. Sure.

Wilson: ‘Preciate it.We done now?

&&&


	4. Captain America and the Spies at Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which takeout is consumed, the God of Thunder snags the last egg roll, and Natasha discovers Steve’s most closely guarded secret.

It came as no surprise to anyone that by the time the takeout was delivered to the tower, an unexplained lightning storm had lit up the Manhattan skyline, a new set of scorch marks had appeared on the roof of the tower, and Thor was happily reaching for his fourth egg roll in as many minutes.

“I need to order a whole other feast,” Tony muttered under his breath.“I swear he’s got early Cantonese warning going.”

“Already on it,” Pepper answered with a smile, waggling her phone at him discreetly.“Be here in ten minutes - I put a rush on it.”

“Think the food we have will last that long?”

“Let me see what I can do,” she told him with a knowing look as she slipped off to wrap her arms around Thor’s bicep.Mouthing “Oh my God!” with wide eyes and a big grin, she gently led Thor away from the food for a moment so someone else - anyone else - could grab a taste.Thor grinned benignly at her, snagged another egg roll for the road, and allowed himself to be led away.Immediately, Clint, Sam, and Rhodey descended on the piles of food to stack their plates.Bucky held back, studying the terrain before deliberately selecting a few items, then dumping an entire container of house fried rice on top.

“Woman’s a tactical genius,” Steve said in an aside to Tony.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Tony replied, mildly shell-shocked.

“She ever meet Peggy?”

Tony had to think for a moment.“Once.Birthday party a few years back.Pep was too busy managing me to spend any real time with Aunt Peg.We really should get them together, shouldn’t we?”

“Exactly what I was thinking.Between the two of them, they could remake the world.Nobody’d need us anymore.”

“Who we talking about, fellas?” Nat asked, sidling up to Steve and Tony while dipping a crab Rangoon dumpling in duck sauce.

“Peggy and Pepper,” Steve answered, while surveying the spread to decide what else he wanted to try.He reached for a couple of teriyaki beef sticks and plopped them on his place, along with some shrimp toast and a few gyoza.

“Oh.Well.Why haven’t you introduced me, Steve?” she pouted as she chewed thoughtfully.

“Didn’t know you wanted to meet her,” Steve shrugged, shoving his teriyaki beef skewer into his mouth and almost piercing his cheek.He readjusted before he wounded himself - serum or not, a skewer through the cheek hurt like a motherfucker.

“The only woman you’ve ever looked at twice?Hell yes I wanna meet her.I need her input, stat.Can’t let America’s most eligible bachelor stay single forever.Can I trust you to make that happen?”

Steve chewed for a moment and swallowed before smiling.“Oh, I think she’d enjoy meeting you.But you know I don’t need any help getting a date.”

“That’s because you never go on the dates I set up.”

“I went on three.That was enough.”

“Oh? Deets, or it didn’t happen,” Tony challenged with a grin.

“That’s the problem.Nothing happened,” Nat complained.

“Cap.Come on - don’t tell me the rumors are true!”

“What rumors?” Steve asked, knowing it wasn’t going to be good.

“That you’re a virgin.”

God, when would his sex life stop being something anyone else cared about?What the hell would they do if he came out?Part of him really wanted to, right then and there, to see how they’d react.But ... Buck.He didn’t want to know that Bucky would hate it.So instead, he played the game, stale as it was.“Is that a bad thing?”

“You’re saving yourself for marriage?”

“I didn’t say that.I just want to know why you say it like it’s something to be ashamed of.I thought this modern age didn’t pass judgment.”

“Well, you know that’s a crock.Have you met the religious right?”

“I’m their poster boy, remember?”

“Hmm.Which is why we need to get you laid, Cap.”

“Which is why, if I was involved with someone, I’d need to protect their privacy.”

“Ah.That’s it.You have a little love nest, a pied a terre, a room with a view and a sex dungeon in the basement.Say it’s so, Cap!Knowing you get debauched on the regular would totally make my life and validate all the bad choices I’ve made in it.”

“Hate to break it to you, Tony, but no one’s debauching me, regularly or not,” Steve replied with a chuckle. 

And of course, Bucky chose that exact moment to look up, eyebrow quirking curiously as he looked directly at Steve. 

Well, shit.

“See, this is why I need to set you up on a date,” Nat interjected.“Sex is good for the body, Steve.I’d imagine a super soldier has super needs,” she added with an impish grin.

“Steve never liked getting set up,” Bucky spoke up then.“Hated it when I did it.Tolerated it when my sister did it,” he said, then paused, frowning.“You did go out on dates Becca asked you to, didn’t you?Didn’t bitch about it, either.Why her and not me?”

“Because your baby sister was only 12, and I didn’t wanna break her little heart.”

“Oh, but mine was fair game?” Bucky challenged with a smirk.

And didn’t that just make Steve’s chest tighten.Never, he thought.I’d never break your heart.Because you’re too busy breaking mine.Aloud, he said, “Figured you had heart to spare, Buck.”

The look that Bucky gave him was fond, soft.If it were anyone else but Bucky, he could almost convince himself it meant something more than just friendship.But it was Bucky, and Bucky’s friendship was the most important thing in the world - this or any other.So he wasn’t about to do anything to fuck it up.

“What’s this I hear about our good Captain’s a devotee of Thespis?I wish to see this, my good friend.Will you hold forth here or in an amphitheater?” Thor chuckled, coming back to the table in time to scoop the last of the egg rolls.

Just then, JARVIS announced the arrival of the second wave of takeout, and Pepper breathed a sigh of relief, and went off to deal with that.

&&&

“Well, that’s more like it,” Nat drawled with a satisfying stretch.“Although her techniques would have gotten her killed her first week in the Red Room.First day, maybe. Madame would not have been impressed.”

“Not like they were going for anything like accuracy,” Steve chuckled.“Pretty sure no one in the cast or crew - or especially the writer - knew anything about spies.The point of these movies was America winning, so Brandt would make sure the villains weren’t too bright.”

“Well, yeah. Look who hadda beat ‘em,” Bucky chuckled, smirking at Steve.Steve threw a throw pillow at his head, which Bucky caught in mid-air with his metal arm, then stuck his tongue out at Steve before he snuggled down with the extra pillow.“Thanks, Steve,” he murmured like the little shit he was.

“Love you, too, Barnes,” Steve said fondly, then choked as he realized what he said. Before he could fully recover, he suddenly found himself in the crosshairs of Natasha’s laser-focused scrutiny. 

Her eyebrow arched delicately as she glanced to Bucky and back to Steve, her smirk expanding into a full-blown smile.Then she nodded to him.“I see,” was all she said, then she popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth, shifted back down on the couch and propped her feet on top of Clint’s thighs.She lifted her arm over her head with her glass in her hand, and waggled it, calling out, “Hit me, Rogers!”

If all she wanted was a servant in exchange for her silence over Steve’s true feelings for Bucky, it was a small price to pay.Steve suspected she was just biding her time before she did something he’d regret, but for now, he got up, retrieved her glass, and went off to the bar to refill it.

He had to smile as he heard Thor ask, “That was very, erm, entertaining, friend Captain.Are there more?”

Nat may bring the mayhem later, but for now Steve had to admit that his life was pretty okay these days.

&&&

Interview Subject:Natasha Alianovna Romanova, aka the Black Widow

Interviewer:Um, thank you, Ms. Widow, for agreeing to sit with me.

Romanoff: Widow’s not my name.Black Widow is my title.I guess you could call it my handle. You may call me Natasha.

Interviewer: Natasha, okay.Sorry.No offense -

Romanoff:None taken.It’s a common mistake.You wanted to talk about Steve Rogers.

Interviewer:Yeah.Yes.I originally wanted to talk to people about Captain America, but I’m getting the impression that you all think of Captain America and Steve Rogers as two separate things.

Romanoff:Of course we do.Because they are.Captain America’s a symbol.A persona.Basically a job.Steve Rogers is a person.

Interviewer:Do you like him?

Romanoff:Steve?He’s like the brother I never had.I enjoy making him uncomfortable.

Interviewer: Um.

Romanoff:Do I make you uncomfortable?

Interviewer: Um.

Romanoff:That’s okay.It’s my job.I’m very good at it, don’t you think?

Interviewer: Uh, yeah.Look, have you seen any of the Captain America movies?

Romanoff:Three so far.They are very bad. Why on earth would you want to give him an award.He’s a terrible actor.The scripts are terrible.The films ... they’re not even good propaganda.

Interviewer: Well, they served a purpose during wartime.And Captain America - Captain Rogers - did a lot to boost morale.

Romanoff:And bond sales.Let’s not forget the bond sales. 

Interviewer: Well, yeah.That’s the reason the movies were made.

Romanoff: To hear Steve tell it, that’s the reason Captain America was made. 

Interviewer: It’s kind of weird when you think of it.

Romanoff: What is?

Interviewer: To have someone with all that power, just trotted out like a show pony.

Romanoff:Obviously Steve would agree with you.Since he snuck off and rescued 400 prisoners of war instead of going to his next tour stop.

Interviewer: Yeah, there is that.

Romanoff:Say, who do I have to kill to get Steve one of those star things?

Interviewer: I’m sorry?

Romanoff: The stars.In the sidewalk.

Interviewer: The Walk of Fame.

Romanoff: Yeah, that.I need Steve to have a star.

Interviewer: That’s a great idea.Actually, that would be a really neat way to tie up the documentary.Except that might overshadow the Oscar the Academy is going to bestow on him. 

Romanoff: Yeah, that’s nice.But about the star?

Interviewer:Well, there’s a process to follow.And I’m not sure if he’d qualify for the living version or the deceased - he was assumed dead for more than five years, after all.But isn’t an Oscar nicer?

Romanoff:Which would embarrass him more?

Interviewer: Uh ...

Romanoff:See, I live for that.I told you, like a brother.

Interviewer:You’re really scary.

Romanoff:Thank you.

&&&


	5. Captain America and the Scourge of the Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which ... conversations are had, some ridiculous, some not. Hope might be kindled, who knows?

“Buy me a star.”

Tony paused in the creation of his latest alcoholic concoction and arched an eyebrow at Nat, who lounged with intent against the kitchen counter.“What, like one of those have a star named after you things?Pretty sure you can do that yourself online.Unless you’re looking for a star no one’s identified yet - you’ll need to chat up Thor for that.”

She flicked her hand at his bicep, earning her a pained, “Ow!” before she clarified, “No, like a Walk of Fame star.”

He turned on the arc reactor-powered processor and took a step back to peer at her more closely.“Do you have a mysterious film career I don't know about? Holding out on me again, Romanoff?”

She reached across and turned off the noisy device.“Not for me, for Steve,” she explained, her voice low.

Shrugging, Tony replied, “Oh. Well, he would qualify. But why now?And why the secrecy, or is that just habit?”

She returned the shrug, and added a smirk.“To embarrass him.”

Tony snorted. “Have you seen that outfit he wore? Kinda think he's less likely to embarrass than we thought. Anybody who could wear that on the big screen either has no issues about confidence, or they are completely oblivious, which is functionally the same thing.So what’s the real reason?Unless you, you know, didn’t notice the whole spandex without a cup action.”

“Of course I noticed. I also noticed who else has been noticing.”

“Look, in my defense, I am bisexual, and even though I am in a committed relationship, I'm not dead yet. I can look. Plus star spangled ass appreciation is an activity Pepper and I can share. She gives it a 9.5, I give it a 10.”

“Weird, but okay. I'd give it a 9.7, but you're not who I'm talking about.”

“Who then?”

“Barnes.”

“Yeah, well, the pair of them have been friends since they were in knee pants. Roommates. At war together. There probably isn't much the pair of them have seen of the other.

“There's a difference between seeing and looking. And Barnes was looking.”

Tony paused then, and looked more closely at Nat, his eyebrow raised questioningly.“And Cap?” he asked softly.

She shrugged then.“I can neither confirm or deny.”

“Discretion becomes you. What's the plan then?”

“This documentary thing is all leading toward him getting an honorary Oscar, right?We all go to Hollywood with Steve, for moral support, to cheer our teammate on -“

“We all give great face in the reaction shots - the Avengers are a surprisingly photogenic bunch.“

“That, too.But Steve is going to accept the award solo.It’s an award for his film work long before the Avengers were even a twinkling in Fury’s missing eye.But a star ...”

“Is a public event that we can all go with him on.Still not seeing how this embarrasses him.”

“Honestly, it won’t. But it’s an opportunity to push him and Barnes together.”

“They actually live together.How much closer do you think you can get them?”

“Hotel room.One bed.They have to share.”

“I literally own a mansion in Malibu.You’ve been there.”

“Hotel in town is more convenient.”

“They could move to another hotel.I may foot the bill for everything in the tower because it amuses me, but Cap’s got his own little nest egg, you know.He just tends to spend a lot of his ready cash on charities and causes.”

“I didn’t realize.”

“He prefers to be quiet about it.I only know because Pep and I sometimes discuss some of his choices as possible recipients of Stark Foundation grants.Cap’s got a good nose for worthwhile organizations.But back to the star.I don’t disagree that he deserves one, but I don’t see how you can engineer a romcom moment by putting the two of them in the same bed in a hotel in a city literally overflowing with luxury accommodations.Cap’s already told stories about him and Barnes sharing a bed when he was a wee sick lad, and in a bedroll back in the good old bad old days.”

“That was kid’s stuff.And a war.With the Howling Commandos hanging around.And Peggy Carter.”

“Point taken.Aunt Peggy would’ve had the gayest men to ever gay question their sexuality - she’s just that awesome.But if you’re trying to get Cap and Barnes together - are you sure they’re actually interested?”

“I believe the potential is there.I also believe the pair of them have their heads stuck up their asses, and also don’t realize that it’s okay now.”

“Steve understands that it’s okay to be queer, Nat.Many of his charities are LGBT oriented.He spends several hours a week on the crisis lines, too.”Tony was pensive for a long moment, frowning first at Nat, then at his food processor.He fiddled with the handle on the glass, and then finally said, “If there’s really something there ... I don’t think it’s that he doesn’t know it’s okay.I think he’s afraid of losing his best friend.It’s something he’s already had to endure once, and he was not okay after.So I don’t think it’s a fear any of us should take lightly.Nat, I know you’re trying to do what you think is best for Steve, but I think maybe you need to stand down this time.”

“Tony Stark is telling me to stand down.”

“Yeah, I am.I want to see Steve happy.Hell, I’d like to see Barnes happy.And happy together is even better.But Steve has already lost Barnes once.And we’ve all seen how getting him back, helping him recover, has made him a different person.A happier, lighter person.He didn’t really start living in this century until he had Barnes back.I think we owe it to him to not put that at risk.”

“Risk?”

“What if he doesn’t welcome the interest of his best bud?What if you’re imagining his interest?”

“I’m not.”

“You don’t know that for certain.And I’m guessing you are pretty sure that Steve is interested.If he hasn’t said anything so far, it’s probably because he doesn’t know how Barnes would react.Which means there is the possibility that after everything they’ve both been through, Steve is afraid he’ll lose Barnes if Barnes knows Steve isn’t entirely straight.And if Steve isn’t sure, knowing Barnes as well as he does ... interfering in that could hurt Steve - a lot - more than it might help him.”

Nat stared at Tony in stunned silence for a long moment before frowning slightly and shaking her head.“I ... I never thought I’d hear wisdom coming from you of all people.”

“Me neither.Let’s not make a habit of it, shall we?I know when I thought I lost Pep, it just about killed me.When you find your ... person ... the idea of losing them ... it’s scarier than staring into the void, and that shit is fucking scary.I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, but a friend?Hell, no.You see what I mean?”

“I ... yeah.I do. It’s one thing to poke fun where we can all laugh, including Steve, but -“

“Poking at a truly painful wound is not such a great idea.”

“No.Okay.Can we still get the star?And all bunk in at your Malibu place?”

“I’ll talk to Pepper about how to best approach it, and we’ll make it happen.I like the idea of being able to walk all over Captain America on Hollywood Boulevard.Maybe do a little soft shoe.Gram the whole thing, y’know?We’ll make it happen.Oooh, maybe I can buy a nightclub and we can gussie it up like those places in the movies - make a night of it, huh?”

“Yeah, that sounds like fun.Hey, are you talking to that interviewer guy?”

“On the schedule for tomorrow.I’m thinking of wearing my Captain America jammies to the interview, whaddya think?”

“I think you’re a menace, Stark, but your heart is in the right place.”

“Highest praise, Romanoff.Highest praise.”

“You keep thinking that, Tony.”

&&&

Steve and Bucky were in the kitchen making snack trays when Bucky asked, “So, that dame in last night’s movie.She was quite the looker.Did you and her ... you know?”

“No,” Steve replied, chuckling.“She was ‘married to her career’ is how the official line went.Studio had her go to events with another actor as escort, they mugged for the camera and all.Truth was she was sweet on a nice English teacher in the valley.Officially, they were roommates.Unofficially, they were a happy couple together.”

“How’d you know all this stuff?”

“Gals just like talking to me, I guess.Once they knew I wasn’t gonna try anything, we got to be friends. I’m a good listener, Buck,” Steve concluded with a grin.

“Didn’t bother you, two dames together?”

“Why should it bother me?You remember our old neighborhood.There’s nothing not to like about two people loving each other.Man and woman, woman and woman.Man and man.Non-binary folks.Love is love, pal,” Steve said, clapping Bucky on the arm as he passed by with his baking tray loaded with goodies.“Grab the door for me?” he asked, nodding toward the oven.

Bucky complied, and then stepped back, watching Steve with an inscrutable expression as Steve slid the tray into the oven.“So you don’t mind two fellas together.”

Steve straightened and looked soberly at Bucky.Calm, even though his heart felt like it was hammering.This was a conversation that could set the stage for conversations to come, or continued silence.“Told you.Love is love.What we see in our line of work, don’t you think we could use a bit more of that?When you find your ... person, I guess, it doesn’t matter much what package they come in, does it?”

Bucky smiled then, and shook his head slightly.“No, no it doesn’t.” He scuffed his toe on the tiled floor then, watching the sweep of his foot for a moment before asking, “So there you were, in Hollywood, with all those beautiful people ... and you never?”

“Never there long enough to ... have a relationship, I guess.I’ve never wanted just a one time only, y’know?Before the serum, no one was interested.After ... there was just never time.So I was pretty sure if anyone was offerin’, it was just ‘cos’a what I looked like, not anything to do with me as an actual person.So, no.I never.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“No wonder Nat is so hell-bent on fixing you up.Does she know?”

“Everybody suspects. You’re the first person I admitted it to.It’s nobody’s business but mine, y’know?And I’m not making a big deal out of ‘losing my virginity’.I just want it to be the right partner when I do.”

“How’re you gonna find that person if you’re not out looking?”

Steve’s smile was sad at the edges, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he settled against the counter.“The life I lead ... the risks we’re forced to take ... not fair to drag someone into it, y’know?I mean, the ladies Nat’s introduced me to were nice enough.But I couldn’t ask them to put up with all the shit we do.So ...”

“So you just live without?Is that fair to you?Or to the person who should be yours?”

“I’m ... at peace with it, I guess.And I’m not lonely, Buck.I got the team.I got you.What more do I need, huh?”

“A keeper, for sure,” Bucky answered then, chewing on his lower lip. “But Steve, you deserve love, too.”

“And I got it.Honest.Like I said. I got you.I got the team.Maybe it’s not ‘romantic love’, but it’s love just the same.And it’s good enough for me.Okay, pal?”

Pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger, Bucky nodded thoughtfully.“If you say so.”

“I do.Now, whaddya think - make up another tray?”

“Thor’s still here.And Barton.Five more trays.Maybe ten.”

&&&

Interview Subject:Anthony Edward Stark, Chief Scientist, Stark Industries.Also, Iron Man.

Interviewer: First of all, let me say it’s a thrill to meet you, Mr. Stark.

Stark:Of course it is.I’m thrilled every time I meet me, why shouldn’t you be?

Interviewer: Um, yes, of course.So, Stark Industries still owns Stark Studios - do you get involved in the film business?

Stark:I tinker with tech.Some of the goodies I develop for other areas of the company, even with the Avengers, have industry applications.I’m not permitted to make life model decoys for film use, though.Something about sanctity of life, ethical concerns, privacy law, blah, blah, blah.I could’a made a killer Jim Morrison, even a Kurt Cobain, and a hell yeah to Janis Joplin, but the powers that be put the brakes on that particular application.

Interviewer:The powers that be?

Stark:Ms. Potts.She’s the power.That bes.Whatever, you get the idea.She’s in charge.I defer to her.

Interviewer: You do?

Stark:Mostly.Now, we gonna talk about Cap at all?Cos I really don’t know much about him, you know.I mean, my Dad rarely talked about anything but Cap, but that’s all water under the proverbial bridge.Steve’s nothing like the Cap good old Dad wittered on about.

Interviewer: Oh?How so?

Stark: Steve’s a real person.With a sense of humor.Who does more than play Frisbee with a big hunk of the rarest metal in the world.But he’s still a terrible dancer.

Interviewer: Well, yeah, that’s why I’m here.To discuss Steve Rogers’ film career, not his dancing.And speaking of your Dad, when he bought Paragon Pictures, there was an unreleased Steve Rogers film in the library, right?

Stark: Sorry, I don’t have that particular inventory memorized.To my knowledge, all of his films were released, and I own ‘em all.Like Pokémon.Stevemon?Capemon? Whatever.Yeah, no mystery flick, sorry.

Interviewer:There are contemporaneous reports of a seventh film.But it was never released.

Stark: Well, could’a been discussed but never shot.Like I said, I’m not aware.And Dad left no Cap trivia unshared. So if he’d owned a seventh Steve Rogers film, it would have been required viewing on Saturday nights.

Interviewer:Oh.I’m really sorry to hear that.I was really hoping ...

Stark: Well, who knows. Maybe this Oscar thing will inspire some schmuck to cast Steve in a new Cap movie.Captain America and the Curse of Technology.Or Captain America and the Interwebs of Intrigue.Or -

[The recording ended at this point, so we shall never know the next fifteen Captain America film title suggestions proposed by Mr. Tony Stark.]

&&&


	6. Captain America and the Deadliest Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which ... investigations are begun, movie night gets a sugar rush, and pining.

“J?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is there a seventh Captain America film?”

“Ms. Potts asked the same thing a few days ago.I have no record of a seventh film.However, I did analyze digitized ephemera from the era and located several references to an unreleased film to which Captain Rogers was attached in 1943.”

“Really.Unreleased or unfilmed?”

“The records are unclear, sir.The industry newspapers of the day - the ‘trades’ I believe they were called - are rather light on facts and heavy on hyperbole, sir.The references I have been able to locate make it sound like Captain Rogers was to be the new Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Tyrone Power all rolled into one, sir.Apparently, Mr. Gable was already active at the European front, and Mr. Power was enlisted in the Pacific at that point.So it would appear that Captain Rogers was to be the new ‘It’ actor.”

Tony snorted his scotch then, choking for a few second before he got control of his breathing again.“Wow.That’s ... an image.I mean, not that he’s entirely wooden, but ... they could’a made a new character in Wizard of Oz named Tree Man and he would’ve fit right in.So 1943 ... that was the year the USO took him to Europe and he escaped Tinseltown for the trenches. Could be the film wasn’t complete, and with him in active combat, they weren’t able to finish it.Everything I’ve heard about Senator Brandt, he wouldn’t have pulled the plug on a chance to market Cap for bonds.Hmm.Anymore details on it in the trades?”

“No, sir.I thought I might check the Paragon Pictures collection, if I may have your permission to employ organic surrogates to physically examine the materials.”

“You mean you want interns and low paid manpower to paw through dear old Dad’s boxes of shit?Have at it.About time we cleaned up that mess.Make sure everyone gets a bonus for ancient dust duty, and have meals brought in for the crew.But dibs if anything interesting floats to the top.You know, like explosive, mechanical, or otherwise not of this world.”

“Yes, sir.I will ensure that you get any and all of the best toys.”

“Good man, J.”

&&&

“Okay, okay, okay!” Clint exclaimed, drumming his hands on the coffee table in a surprisingly rhythmic riff.“So what’ve we got on tap tonight?More spies?Sky jockeys? Bad sets? Worse dialogue?”

Steve chuckled at the infectious enthusiasm of their resident archer.“Um, which one is this?” he asked Pepper.

She looked up from her phone and answered, “Deadliest Game?”

“Oh.Oh God.Yeah.This one ... wow.This one is really bad, guys,” Steve said with a shudder.

“Steve, we’ve literally watched cardboard trees fall over when you walked too fast,” Bucky pointed out, his eyebrows arched in near shock.“What could be worse?”

“A guy in a really bad white gorilla costume?”

“Oh.Oh, that’s it.We’re getting a Rifftrax marathon scheduled.This is better than Mystery Science Theatre,” Tony cackled.

“Man, I liked the white gorilla.He was misunderstood.And cuddly,” Sam protested from where he was cradling a bowl of dip, protecting it from Natasha’s covert assault.

“He was a guy named Alfonso and he spoke seven languages, none of which were English,” Steve pointed out.“He was literally the smartest guy on set. But he couldn’t get anything but stunt jobs because all his records were still in Italy.”

“So the gorilla had a cosmopolitan air about him,” Sam grinned, ducking under Nat’s latest attack.

“You really liked this one?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, it’s actually my favorite of the bunch.Hathaway has a huge part in this one - the black dude actually saves Captain America.”

“Oh yeah, I remember we filmed a version where that happened.Oh, I’m glad they used that.”

Tony leaned back in his seat and gave Steve a weird look.“Wait, haven’t you seen this one?”

“Nope.I was already on the boat to Europe when this one came out.I missed the premieres for the last couple of films, and they weren’t so popular with the fellas at the front, if you know what I mean.”

Bucky snorted then, earning him a mock glare from Steve that softened immediately into fond.Nat cleared her throat discreetly, causing Steve to lift his eyebrow in reproach, but nothing more.

“Well, then.This one deserves special care.Whaddya say, I’m gonna put an order in with Dolce - ice cream, desserts, creme brûlée - you guys with me on this?”

The cacophony of agreement that met Tony’s question was universally affirmative, so with a grin, he put in the order.

They held off starting the next film until the goodies were delivered, but after that, there was no holding back. By the time the end credits rolled, Clint was face down on the couch, drooling into the cushion, while Sam and Nat were practically wrestling over by the floor to ceiling windows, both of them riding a sugar high that promised an epic crash in their near futures. Pepper was watching them warily, splitting her attention between Sam and Nat, and Tony who looked like he was about to vibrate out of his skin.Rhodey was pacing back and forth, casting similarly concerned glances.

“It would seem these desserts have a deleterious effect on our teammates’ inhibitions,” Thor observed with a chuckle, then shoved a heaping spoonful of caramel-laced vanilla ice cream into his mouth.

“Sugar rush.Except for Clint, he’s already entered the coma phase.Steve, James, would you be able to restrain Tony if he tries to summon a suit?” Pepper asked.

Steve gulped down his own ice cream, felt a freeze headache burst forth behind his eyes as he tried to nod.

“Thank goodness.Tony, settle down or Steve will sit on you.”

“That might be fun, except we all know he weighs more than he looks.His cells are dense,” Tony said quickly, his voice amped up and a little high.

“It’s not polite to make comments about someone’s weight, Tony,” Pepper admonished, rapping her knuckles against Tony’s knee.

“It’s true, though.Old Abraham’s serum makes his cells denser because they’re constantly replenishing, faster than a normal human.It’s why Cap’s gonna live forever.”

“An extended period, surely,” Thor commented.“Even Asgardians do not live forever.It just seems that way.”

“Erskine hypothesized indefinite cell renewal.That’s functionally immortality,” Tony pressed, frowning.

“Immortality,” Steve repeated, feeling sick to his stomach. 

“Seriously?” Bucky asked then, casting a worried glancing toward Steve.

“You too, Bucko!Hydra got enough of the formula correct that your cells are denser than normal, too, and you regenerate at about the same rate as Cap.The pair of you are gonna outlive us all.Like by a lot.”

“Not me.I’m 1,500 of your years old, and I have a long way to go yet,” Thor protested. “A very long way.”

“Great, you three can form a club.I want more ice cream.Split a gallon with me, Pep?”

“Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.Boys, can you help me wrangle these idiots and put them to bed?They are going to have the worst sugar headaches in the morning.And ignore Tony - he won’t come down from this for at least another day or two, but he’s rambling.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Steve agreed, and Bucky nodded.They moved quickly to help contain their hyped up friends and cajole them to bed before they did something they would regret later.

“No I’m not.The science is there.Speaking of science, where’s my science bro?Bruce would back me up -“

“He had that Skype thing with his friend, remember?” Rhodey interjected then, helping Steve, Bucky, and Thor to collect Sam, Nat, Clint (still unconscious), and Tony.“C’mon, Tone.Time to get some shuteye.”

“I’m awake.And frighteningly alert.Come down to the lab.Let’s see what’s on the slab!” Tony giggled as he broke into the Time Warp as Rhodey nudged him along toward the elevator.

Pepper shook her head. “You are not doing the Time Warp on the roof again, Tony.The last time you did that, we had to register you with Broadway Equity. And Richard O’Brien invited you to join the London revival cast.”

“Time Warp?” Bucky asked, frowning.

“Long story.Maybe after we finish watching Cap’s canon,” Rhodey replied, hunkering down to get under Tony’s armpit as he slung Tony’s arm over his shoulders.“C’mon, big guy.Time to sleep off all that sugar.”

“Can’t.Can’t sleep.Never gonna sleep again.I feel like inventing.I can invent a time machine!A time machine to do the Time Warp in!Cap can take a trip back to the good old days, and Barnes - well, Barnes would have to go too, wouldn’t he?I mean, you two ... you belong together, don’t you?Like me’n’Pep.Best friends first.Ooops,” he added, raising his fingers demurely to his lips as he glanced coquettishly at the two super soldiers.

“That’s nice, Tony. You and Pepper are squad goals,” Steve said, chuckling.“Now, come on.Let’s get you tucked in, okay?”

“Tucked in by Captain America.My Dad’s waking wet dream.Which of you did he know?The hero or the guy who won’t back down from a fight?”

Tony was looking at Steve with such naked vulnerability, Steve had to stop and consider the question seriously.“Both, I think.He knew me before the serum, too, although he didn’t much take me seriously.Only Abraham and Peggy did that.But he respected Abraham, and accepted his decision.But after ... after he was only interested in me as a lab rat.Until Kreuzberg.He treated me differently then.”

“Everybody did.You showed them the hero I always knew you were,” Bucky said quietly.“And that you were a little shit who couldn’t follow orders and wouldn’t back down.”

“You know I probably would never have had the guts to do that if it hadn’t been for you, Buck.I would’a just stayed with the USO, ‘cos I never would’a asked Phillips about the unit.Only reason I did was finding out it was yours.Couldn’t ... couldn’t let my best pal down.”

Bucky stared at Steve then, his expression strangely unreadable as he said seriously, voice low enough that only Steve could hear him, “You never let me down, Steve. Not once.”

“I -“ Steve started to protest, an echo of the wind of the Alps biting into his skin as a reminder of his failure, but Bucky glared at him, reducing him to silence.

Bucky’s mouth set in a hard line.“Not once.And don’t tell me you wouldn’a done the same thing for any group of POWs.”

“I -“ This time he felt a blush rising on his face.Bucky might be right, but Steve knew in his bones he never would’ve gone to see Phillips in the first place if it hadn’t been for finding out it was Bucky’s unit that had been captured.

Tony was watching them both with a besotted expression, and he chose that moment to coo at them.“You guys!You guys are squad goals! Don’t you think? Pep? Rhodey? This is friendship. It’s survived ... everything. It can survive anything,” Tony added, spearing Steve with his suddenly very serious, very focused gaze.“Anything, Steve,” he repeated, his expression intense, then he suddenly slumped forward, snoring.

“Well.That was fun,” Nat said suddenly, gently extricating herself from Thor’s embrace.“I may not be Asgardian or a super soldier, but I can handle my sugar just fine.It’s not so different from vodka in that way.Not like these lightweights.”

“But -“ Pepper started to protest, then thought better of it and shrugged. Steve was of the same opinion. Nat was a law of nature unto herself.

“Well, I think it’s probably time for us all to turn in.”He picked up Tony in a bridal carry and nodded toward where Sam was slumped against a chair.“Thor you got Sam, right? Bucky, you good?”

Bucky hefted Clint and nodded.“See you in a few.Hey, Pepper - could we have a gallon of the caramel ice cream to go?”

Pepper grinned. “One less gallon for Tony to get into when he wakes up with the munchies.Could I interest you in all of it?”At Bucky’s grin, she nodded.“Gimme a hand, Nat?”

“I’ll help with logistics,” Rhodey volunteered, as Thor and Bucky moved toward the Tower elevator with their burdens, and Steve went toward the executive bank, Rhodey close behind.

&&&

“You should let them figure it out themselves, you know,” Pepper said gently as she pulled ice cream gallon containers out of the freezer and placed them on a trolly.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Nat answered archly, arranging the gallons.

“You do, you’re not fooling me.You and I have worked together too long, Natalie.And we all want Steve to be happy.But him and James?If they’re meant to be together, they’ve got to get there on their own,” Pepper pointed out as she handed another gallon over to Nat.

“You and Tony ganging up on me?”

Pepper smiled sweetly.“Where do you think he gets his best ideas?His worst ideas are all him, but the good ones, they come from me.”

Nat snorted gently.“I can see that. It’s just -“

“It’s frustrating, watching them dance around each other like oblivious labradors.Yeah.And we could all be as old as they are by the time they figure it all out.But it’s theirs to figure out.You’re just going to have to be patient.”

“But I can help it along.I just need to grab them both by the neck, smush their faces together, and tell them to kiss.All done.”

“That can be our plan B.But for the moment - nature’s in charge.Okay?”

“Mmmm.”

“Promise?”

“Erm.”

“Use your words, Nat.”

“Yes,” she answered with a groan.

“Good.Now let’s get this on the elevator so we can drop it off, kick off our shoes, and have a nightcap before we turn in and face our sugar-hyped significant others.”

Nat’s smile was positively radiant.And predatory.Pepper just shook her head fondly and handed Nat the vodka while she poured herself a glass of wine.

&&&

“Hey, Steve, you here?” Bucky called as he came back into the apartment, kicked off his shoes, and shuffled wearily into the living room.He found Steve there, curled up on the couch with a soft fleecy throw over his legs, reduced to t-shirt and sleep pants and a large bowl of ice cream.

“Just like you t’eat ice cream while snuggling down.Budge over, lemme have some’a’that.”

Steve lifted up the side of the throw so Bucky could slide under, knock his right shoulder against Steve’s, and make grabby hands toward Steve’s overflowing bowl of ice cream.Chuckling, Steve held his bowl out of reach in his right hand while he leaned forward to snag Bucky’s bowl with his left, and hand it to him.

“Think with all the cold we’ve had in our lives, neither of us would love ice cream so much.”

“Nah, there’s nothing can ruin ice cream.Especially when we’ve got so many flavors to choose from.I wanna take a year off and work my way through every flavor, one a day.Think we can do that?”

The childish glee on Bucky’s face both warmed Steve’s heart and cut it deeply.He wanted to give Bucky that.He wanted to give him a year of ice cream and a life of love.A life of peace.A life of anything he wanted.

Instead, he answered, “I dunno, Buck.Is a year long enough?” he asked as he shoved a heaping tablespoon of ice cream into his mouth, grinning around the oozing confection.

Bucky looked at him then, his eyes soft, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.“Maybe not, punk.Maybe we need two years.”

“Yeah, maybe I need to take a sabbatical.”

“Hmph. Like that’d happen,” Buck grumped and turned to his ice cream, digging in with his big spoon to create a scoop almost as large as his mouth.He stretched wide and shoved it in, letting creamy drops pool at the corners of his mouth.

Steve watched with a longing he was careful to mask, to quell.Nothing was more important to him than Bucky.Nothing.But sometimes, it was hard to remember that.Because, well ... Bucky.

So he turned back to his own ice cream, letting a little frown form between his brows as he spooned more ice cream into his mouth.

“It could, you know,” he said softly.“Is that something you’d want?”

“You’d take time off from bein’ Captain America just ‘cos I wanted it?”

Steve lifted his head again and looked directly at Bucky, whispering, “I’d give you anything you want, Buck.You know that,” before he engaged his brain to mouth filter.

Bucky breathed out softly, his lips curved gently as he looked at Steve in silence for a moment.Then he reached out with his right hand to touch Steve’s lower lip, thumb sweeping along the curve of it before he held it, caught in the moment.

Steve felt his lips part, his breath stilled as he waited for the next moment.

Was Bucky about to kiss him?

Then Buck’s palm shifted to cup his cheek and his smile grew into a smirk.“Can dress you up but I still can’t take you out.Y’got ice cream on your face, punk.Clean yourself up - don’t want anyone seeing America’s Captain lookin’ like a street punk, do we?”

Steve hoped his disappointment wasn’t showing when he reached for a napkin to wipe away the dribbles of his dessert, and he thought he was doing a good job when he finished and presented himself for Bucky’s inspection.Bucky grinned and then settled in against his left side, a warm wall of familiar as they worked their way through their late-night treat.

Steve’s heart was still hurting as he scraped the last drops of caramel from the bottom of his bowl.

If Bucky asked, he’d take a sabbatical.Hell, he’d drop the shield and never pick it up again if that made Buck happy.

All he had to do was ask.

&&&

Interview Subject:Colonel James R. Rhodes, USAF, aka War Machine

Interviewer:Thank you for taking the time to sit down and talk with me.

Rhodes: Yeah, well, I figured someone had to set the record straight.

Interviewer: Which record would that be?

Rhodes: About Captain Steve Rogers.Versus the myth of Captain America.

Interviewer: Yes, some of my other interview subjects emphasized that Steve Rogers and Captain America are two different people.

Rhodes: Captain America was created to sell war bonds.But more than that, over the decades, the character has been co-opted to stand for white, conservative America.Very much right wing.Fox News even does a segment, “What would Captain America do?”And they never get it right.

Interviewer: Because Captain America is symbol from another era?

Rhodes:Because Steve Rogers is an independent pain in the ass with very definite opinions that you’ll never hear on Fox News.

Interviewer:Do you share those opinions?

Rhodes: If I’m being honest ... not a lot.We agree on the broader concepts of honor, duty, integrity.But the finer details.I mean, come on.He was selected for Project Rebirth because he’d lied his way into five different recruitment offices.Among other things.He was awarded his commission on the battlefield after he violated protocol, disobeyed orders, and potentially caused an international incident.He rescued 400 Allied POWs in the process, but everything about his methods contradicts everything I understand about serving.He didn’t come up through the ranks - hell, I don’t think he ever had officers’ training.He goes with his gut and he doesn’t always play by the book.I believe in the chain of command, the importance of rules and structure.Steve Rogers is very often chaos in a red, white, and blue suit.He’s a brilliant tactician, don’t get me wrong.The guy is smart and he knows his stuff.He can be inspiring - which was useful with these God-awful movies, I guess.But our philosophies don’t always align.I can serve under him in the field as commander of the Avengers because I trust he’s in it for the right reasons. But I’m not going to follow blindly, and I’m not silent if I disagree with a call.

Interviewer:Has Captain Rogers ever given an order that you felt was, um ...

Rhodes:Unacceptable?Not yet.Like I said, he’s a brilliant tactician.It’s not his orders that I find ... questionable.His priorities, his decisions regarding himself ... that’s where we can diverge.And he and Tony Stark actually have more in common than either of them will admit.

Interviewer:Oh?

Rhodes:Yeah, they’re both mavericks.Cap may talk about the team, working together, all that happy kumbaya stuff.He won’t waste resources, and he won’t risk a teammate.But if he sees the opportunity to score a win - take out an enemy combatant, protect civilian personnel and materiel - on his own, he won’t wait for backup.He’ll put himself at risk to achieve the objective, without thought for how losing him as commander, as friend, would affect the team.Tony’s just as bad.He never claims to be for the team, even though he lives for it.Created this whole community in the Tower so the team can live and work together.But whether it’s downing a plane to prevent enemy craft from attacking New York, or taking a nuke through a wormhole to another dimension, the pair of them are first in line to take the dangerous way out, without thinking through the alternatives.That’s why they need me on the team.So I can smack the pair of them upside the head and knock some sense in them both.

Interviewer:And you’ve been successful with this?

Rhodes:Hell, no.But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying.Actually, I should probably enlist Barnes and Pepper - Ms. Potts.A better chain of command would ensure the integrity of the team.Look, are we done here?I think I need to follow up on this.

Interviewer: Yeah, I think.I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to use much of this - we didn’t discuss the films at all.

Rhodes: Yeah we did.I said they were God-awful.But they served a purpose. It is interesting watching Steve see a couple of them for the first time, though.

Interviewer: What?

Rhodes:Yeah, you didn’t know that?He never got to see the finished films on the last couple.They weren’t released until he was already overseas, so he’s seeing them for the first time.It’s kinda funny, actually.He’s got a heckuva blush.

&&&


	7. Captain America and the Mountain of Mayhem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which ... recovery is had, discoveries are made, and intel is shared.

Following the Great Sugar Overload, the team swore off movie night for a few nights.Steve was a little disappointed, because the last one had actually come out better than the rough cut he’d seen before shipping out.He remembered he liked the script on the next one, so he was really curious to see what the final film had looked like.It was weird, watching his younger, more awkward self strutting around on screen in that ridiculous outfit, but it was kind of nice, too.He liked his castmates, and it was nice to see them again, even if only on celluloid.

He looked them up on the Internet, and was happy to see that most of the guys went on to have solid careers in Hollywood.Frank Setter, the actor who’d played Sam’s hero Hathaway, had gone on to be a success on Broadway, and had even starred in a musical in the 1950s.Steve remembered him as a kindly guy with a booming voice that he was careful to modulate when he was on screen.He’d often sing between takes - stuff from the radio, sometimes show tunes, hymns, old standards - it was all the same to Frank, opportunities to make beautiful music.Steve could imagine him filling a theatre with his voice, and he was sorry he’d missed the opportunity to experience that.So he was thrilled to learn that the musical Frank had headlined had an original cast album, as did a couple of the shows he didn’t star in.

Steve knew about eBay, and he wasn’t afraid to use it.He paled at the going rate for the album, but the thought of hearing Frank again - and possibly sharing the experience with both Sam and Bucky - was enough to decide him.After he’d paid for the record, he received a frantic message from the seller asking if he really was the Captain America Steve Rogers.When he confirmed he was, the seller offered to hand deliver the record, and bring more of his Frank Setter collection to show Steve.All he asked in return was Steve’s autograph on a cast photo from the Captain America movie series.

It was a no brainer, as they say.They picked a place to meet in two days’ time, and Steve confirmed it was okay to bring his friends.

Steve was looking forward to Sam’s reaction ...

&&&

In the meantime, JARVIS oversaw a group of SI interns and Stark Studios staff as they pored through the many dusty boxes and containers left over from Howard Stark’s brief foray into motion pictures. While Howard had been meticulous about record keeping over his “babies,” he didn’t have the same emotional or intellectual investment in the film work of others.So there had never been a proper inventory taken of the Paragon Pictures acquisitions.

Fortunately, the team assigned to the task actually enjoyed rummaging through film industry memorabilia, and it wasn’t long before JARVIS started receiving reports of interesting finds, requesting instructions on what to do with them.

As a result, the AI requisitioned the services of a film historian to oversee the investigation, and increased the size of the contingent working on the project.

“Tony, can you explain to me why nearly the entire staff of Stark Studios is logging overtime in Burbank?” Pepper Potts asked a few days later.

“I can answer that question, Ms. Potts,” JARVIS volunteered.

“Yeah, J, why are we paying overtime in Burbank of all places?” Tony asked with a grin, as if he didn’t already know the answer.

“Okay, you two apparently know something I don’t.Care to share?” Pepper asked.

“Cap hunt,” Tony answered succinctly, leaving Pepper none the wiser.

“If I may, sir.We are currently inventorying the holdings of Paragon Pictures in search of the supposedly missing seventh Captain America film.”

“Oh!Oh, that’s great.Any luck so far?”

“We have not yet located the film, but the team has located several screen-used shields, a number of costumes from the films, including six different Captain America costumes, a white gorilla costume, and a number of plywood set decorations. This in addition to a number of other items from other Paragon Pictures properties.”

“Screen used shields.Wow.That’s ... pretty amazing, actually.And costumes!You know, if we had Steve sign all this stuff, we could probably have a pretty successful charity auction.”

“What for this time?”

“Well, considering it’s all film memorabilia, probably something related to the industry.Maybe something for the California environment?Or we could ask Steve what he’d like to see the money used for.”

“You know Coulson would give his left nut for a shield and costume, but I don’t know what the going rate is for that.Or who would actually buy Coulson’s left nut.Steve’s ... well, Coulson’d give up his other -“

“That’s enough, Tony.I really don’t need to hear about Phil’s ... nethers.But why don’t we set up a time to talk this over with Steve?You know he’d be on board to support charity.”

“Why don’t we wait until the minions finish their search?There might be more cool stuff hidden away.”

“Okay.We’ll give it another couple of days.And if you find that film ...”

“Yes?”

“You call me, wherever I am, whoever I’m with.I’m dying to see it!”

&&&

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“Ready for what, Clinton?” Nat asked with an air of disinterest.

“For another Cap extravaganza.”

“You’ve recovered from your sugar coma, Barton?” Rhodey asked from where he was flicking through schematics of War Machine upgrades Tony’s sent him earlier that day.

“Days ago.Just needed to build up my strength to take on another tale of patriotism, spandex, and derring-do.Or is that derrière?” Clint giggled to himself.

“Yeah, like I haven’t heard ass jokes before.”

“Language, Steven.”

“Fuck you, Natasha.”

“Well, since I know you’re not - um, well, not interested in me that way ...”

“Seriously?Not even Nat?Steve, your standards are impossibly high,” Bucky complained from where he was playing a game on his phone.

“It’s not a matter of standards.Nat’s like a sister.It would be weird.”

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Nat admitted with a shrug.

“What about you, Barnes?Don’t see you dating.What’re your standards?” Clint asked, head cocked in curiosity.

“I, uh.I dunno. To be honest, I haven’t given dating a lot of thought.I mean, who would want to? Date me, I mean.With my history -“

“That’s bullshit.What happened when you were a prisoner doesn’t define you -“ Steve protested, practically sputtering.

“I’d have to side with Steve on this one, James.You’ve been exonerated in a court of law, and in the court of opinion.There are whole Twitter hashtags dedicated to #buckybabe, and if you want to melt your brain, take a look at Tumblr.Just watch your tags - there’s a fair amount of NSFW stuff out there.”

“Really?” Steve asked, his voice squeaking slightly.

“Yes, really.Het, poly ... slash,” she said, looking right at Steve.“Fiction and art.Some really lovely art.”

“Slash?” Bucky repeated.

“Yeah, it’s a form of fan written fiction.And art, obviously.Probably not your style, Buck,” Steve attempted to divert the conversation.

“I’ll send you some links to my favorites,” Nat volunteered with a self-satisfied smirk.

Bucky waved his phone and said, “Hit me.”

“Uh ...” was the intelligent reply that Steve could muster.

Nat settled back in her seat and pointedly did not notice the purpling of Steve’s complexion, or his not quite subtle attempts to get her attention.

Beside him, Bucky just huffed out a grunt when his phone pinged to herald an incoming e-mail.Followed by a soft, “Oh” that didn’t exactly sound judgmental. In fact, Steve kind of thought it might sound like ... interest?

And just then, Nat looked up, casting a glance over her shoulder as she mouthed, “You’re welcome.”

&&&

Interview Subject:Clinton Francis Barton, aka Hawkeye, Avenger

Interviewer: So I understand the Avengers have been watching the Captain America films from the 1940s as a team.

Barton: Yeah, it’s kinda weird to think of Cap as a movie star, but he kinda was.I mean, that whole USO thing, Hollywood.Like he had to be made up, not the real deal.They should’a just followed him around with a camera - guy can’t help but be a hero, y’know?

Interviewer:I imagine it was difficult to have a newsreel team follow him around the country.

Barton: Yeah.Tech really wasn’t there for it then, huh?Nowadays, you could do a 24/7 CapCam, and it would probably pull enough viewers to rival ESPN.I mean, could you imagine?

Interviewer:You think Cap would be up for that?

Barton: No way.He doesn’t think he’s interesting enough for that.And besides, he’s only Cap on mission.Otherwise he’s plain old Steve - genuine nice guy who happens to be ripped as shit.

Interviewer:He’s a good looking guy.

Barton:That he is.If I swung that way ... well, even if I don’t, but if he did ... yeah.It’s hard to be around him and not have thoughts.You know.Thoughts.

Interviewer:In my line of work, I try to avoid those types of thoughts.

Barton:Yeah, I can see that could be a problem.And it’s not for me - I mean, I work with the guy.We live in the same building. We hang out. I’ve seen him with bedhead and a grumpy ass at too early o’clock.

Interviewer:Have the films changed your view of him at all?

Barton:Not really.He’s a brave man to wear 1940s version of spandex.Brave man.And dare I say hot?No, maybe not.We’ll go with brave.

**Author's Note:**

> I seriously have a thing about writing Steve with one foot in the past, looking toward the future. So being able to play with that in coming up with this story is a joy to me.
> 
> I’ve left the rating at Mature, since I don’t know how this will all turn out. Knowing Bucky, there will likely be sexy times, but I’ll leave that to the boys to decide ...
> 
> Please remember to subscribe so you’re alerted when new chapter post!
> 
> Enjoy!


End file.
